Ceiling protection: acoustics foam panels? 1” or 2” thick?

[EricOtown]

I’m considering installing black acoustic foam panels for ceiling protection. Just wondering if anyone else has done this and whether the worked well or not? Would you suggest 1” or 2” thick panels?

96 Pack Acoustic Panels Studio Foam Wedges 2" X 12" X 12" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AB8JOV6..._3.0pCbFYVPBW5

96 Pack Acoustic Panels Studio Foam Wedges 1" X 12" X 12" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AB8JPYM..._Lf1pCbT9KWQE9

The 2” thick panels are about twice the cost so I would prefer not to waste money on 2” thick panels if 1” panels will do the job. I would need 150 sq ft of foam panels to cover a 15’ X 10’area.

I will be hitting 12 feet from my screen and I’ve seen stray shots off the top edge of the driver go almost straight up. Especially with the FiberBuilt mat that allows the driver to sink below the surface of the mat, so even if the ball is teed up the correct height, if you ground the driver it will sink into the FB mat and the ball may strike the top edge of the driver.

My kids and guests will be using my simulator so I expect lots of stray balls will hit my ceiling. Right now I just have a hitting net and mat set up in my garage and I’ve already got about a dozen ball dents in my drywall ceiling.

[simmb]

I have a row of these panels on my ceiling just before the net. Think mine are 0.5 inch at the base at 1.5 at the peak. I use them more to stop wedge shots climbing the net and coming back at your head, the grooves catch the ball and drop it to the floor. When I hit them it does not sound or look like they are doing any damage to the ceiling but as I say its mostly wedge shots hitting them. Will they send a sample tile so you could check?

[EricOtown]

Thanks for the info.

Do you know when the thickness of an acoustic foam panel is listed as 1” or 2”, is that the thickness to the top of the highest ridge (peak) or the lowest (base)?

If it’s the former, I better buy minimum 2” thick acoustic foam panels so that the base thickness is at least 1”.

[simmb]

I don't know what they would list them as to be honest. The panels I bought didn't mention a specific thickness just the base and peak height. You could just ask the question on Amazon the reseller would probably answer that really quickly. If you are going to be hitting the ceiling at speed though I would say the thicker the better.

[JamRock]

I installed 2” thick foam panels and hit 9 feet from the screen. Before installing them I had the same issue. Mine go across the entire screen and three rows back. I have a curtain on the front of that which hangs down 20” and catches any other ricochet balls. Now I don’t even think the balls touch the drywall.

[EricOtown]

Thank you. Your install looks great!

How did you attach the curtain?

Did you use acoustic foam or another type of foam? Where did you buy it?

I found a site called Foam Factory (www.foambymail.com) and they sell every type of foam imaginable. They sell acoustic foam, memory foam, neoprene, and a bunch of other types of open cell and closed cell foam.

I’m just not sure which type would be best for to protect a ceiling from golf balls traveling up to 150 mph, while also absorbing enough of the energy so the balls don’t ricochet with a lot of energy and speed. Preferably I want a material that will deaden the balls similar to an impact screen.

There are also tons of sellers on Amazon and eBay that sell acoustic foam panels of all different shapes, sizes, and colors, but I’m a little concerned with the quality. Reviews are very mixed and no reviews that I could find where by people using the foam panels how I intend to to use them.

Would you mind sending a few more pics whenever you get a chance, so I can see your foam panels and curtain in a little wider view that will show them in relation to the rest of your set up. In the pic you posted it’s hard for me to tell which way is which. Thanks.

[JamRock]

The black curtain that encloses the screen and the knock down section 3' back from the screen are all hung from a 2x2 lumber I have screwed into the ceiling. They are just black table cloth I got off of Amazon cut into strips and doubled up. The acoustic foam was also from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and attached to ceiling with 3M SUPER 77 spray adhesive. After I installed 3 rows I attached anoter 2x2 to the ceiling and just stapled the knock down curtain. I was getting balls from higher lofted clubs coming off the screen and heading up toward the projector. Now they either hit the ceiling and drop or ones that don't quite reach the ceiling hit that 20" curtain and drop. I installed the acoustic foam after the curtain only because I was hoping it would help with sound which my wife will tell you it did not. Side curtains were also an Amazon purchase that were 100" wide and bought 3 and cut the third and had someone sew sections onto the bottoms of the other two. They are attached to the ceiling by curtain rod holders and I sprayed 1" emt black to make cheap rods. They take a direct hit from my horrible slice with no problem.

[EricOtown]

Great. Thanks for all the info. I’ve decided to go with the same acoustic foam panels and also add a couple homemade curtain baffles like you did.

Par2Pro wanted $860 for 18’ X 15’ of black mesh fabric and 105’ of 2” Velcro to make mesh ceiling baffles over a 15’ X 10’ area of my ceiling.

I can get 150 sq far of those 2” acoustic foam panels for $330, plus whatever it cost for the adhesive for the foam panels and the wood, and fabric to make a couple curtains. Should be under $400 all in.

And I probably don’t need 150 sq ft. of my ceiling protected. I will likely be hitting from 12’ from my screen and my screen is 14’ 4” X 8’ 11.5”. My ceiling is 9’ 6”.

I figure that if I cover the ceiling with foam panels from the screen out about 8 feet X 15’ wide that should be more than enough. The foam panels would start 4 feet in front of where I’m hitting the ball from.

My kids and guests will be using the sim so I’m adding more protection than I would need for myself for high lofted wedges.

Just tonight my daughter and I were hitting into a net in the garage and she teed up the ball too high and the ball hit of the very top edge of her driver where the face meets the top. The ball probably went up a 70 degree angle, completely missed the net and put a nice half hole in the ceiling drywall. Not a huge deal but with the amount of use I hope my sim gets, over time I don’t what dozens of holes in the ceiling to repair.

Thanks again for all the info and photos.

Thanks again for all the info and photos.

[Joshua1745]

I had trouble getting the acoustic panels to stick. I ordered 2" foam panels from foam factory online. I also ordered polyethylene foam roll 3/8" thick x 5' for ~ $5 to experiment with and that seems to be able to stop a golf ball. I've had trouble getting the foam panels to stick. I've tried double sided tape and spray adhesive. I've also tried stapling cardboard to the ceiling and using spray adhesive between the foam and cardboard. I know there's a ideal timing issue as when the spray is most tacky. The only thing that has worked reliably is stapling the panels directly to the ceiling but its not the prettiest. My setup is pretty similar to JamRock otherwise (same HDMI cord and projector as well.) However, I've placed a tarp suspended by bungees between the EMT curtain rods instead of the curtain. The bungees are arranged so that the tarp is pleated. This is for the 1st 5' from the screen (10 x10' tarp); it also helps cover the top of the screen thats not projecting an image. After that Its foam panels.

[Marshbank7]

Hey, EricOtown

Wanted to follow up on this and see what you thought of those tiles. I will be starting my build in a couple weeks and like the clean look that comes with wall/ceiling padding (vs a hitting enclosure). Did you end up going with the 2" ones? How are they holding up and do they do a good job of stopping/deadening stray balls? How did you fix them to your ceiling?

[CBearsSB]

Be careful as acoustic panels can be bouncy. I had multiple samples sent to me and found them quite bouncy with trampoline type affect. I purchased these foam panels and combined with a net system.

[Marshbank7]

What are the foam pads you are using?

[Aceball]

Cbears,

How much space above the screen did you have to pad/protect? Did you use foam for that as well? I have about 20" of wall above my screen I have to protect and wondering what the best way is to that. Your set up looks pretty slick. Love that netting solution for your ceiling. Where did you get your netting? What do you think is the best amount of space to have between the net and the ceiling to prevent the ball hitting the ceiling/foam.

[CBearsSB]

I purchased from company out of Los Angeles: Mybecca, www.mybeccainc.com
Medium Density Upholstery Foam Sheet 2 inch x 24 inch x 84 inch Foam Padding.
I used my cuisinart electric knife to cut foam.
I used "acouSTIC foam adhesive" to secure to ceiling. I purchased this at www.acousticalsolutions.com